It still wasn't that much meat, she reassured herself. She needed to eat less to gain weight, but that was no reason to starve herself.

That rationale lasted through a third gazelle and a kudu, and by the time she'd started in on her second wildebeest, she wasn't even bothering to rationalize her gluttony to herself any longer. All she knew was that she was hungry and that delicious food kept appearing in front of her.

Simba, for his part, was in awe. He watched, mesmerized, as his wife devoured carcass after carcass. For a surprisingly long while, the food disappeared into her vast stomach without leaving a trace, but eventually Nala neared her capacity, and her gut started to expand visibly, to Simba's delight. Every pound of food she ate would make her just that little bit fatter, and adding up everything that she had eaten, she would get quite a bit fatter indeed.

When Nala finally stopped eating, Simba marveled at how much she had been able to pack in. Her enormous stomach was taut, and it pushed the rest of her up so she was significantly taller than Simba was. She had also fallen asleep almost immediately after she'd stopped eating, which meant that Simba didn't have to pretend that he didn't notice her gain any longer. He pressed himself up against her flank, listening to her stomach gurgle and murmur as it digested its huge meal. He began to rub it, gently, so as not to wake his wife. The sooner Nala digested this, the sooner she could stuff herself again.